April 2013 Page 1

DATELINE

Wednesday April 3 Report Cards and Class Photo -

wear your red polo and khaki bottoms

Monday– Thursday April 16-19 Terra Nova Standardized Testing for First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth grades

No homework this week for these students -

please get a good nights sleep, eat a healthy

breakfast and arrive to school on time!

Thursday April 18 Skating and Pizza - All Elementary students

Monday April 22 Celebration of Earth Day

Tuesday April 23 Parenting Workshop - 6:30-8:00 PM

Life and Children: How to Manage Problem Behaviors and Promote Independence

Thursday April 25 Come dressed like a TREE to celebrate Arbor Day

Monday April 29 Parent/Teacher Conference Day - Fun Day Available

Wednesday May 1 Mother Goose Day - come dressed as your

favorite Mother Goose character

Volunteer now

for

Fun and Field

Day!

Friday

May 17th

9 am– noon

Elementary Newsletter

Students of the Month of March!

Ryan Tingley

Michael Curro

Learning is finding out what you already know.

Doing is

demonstrating that you know it.

Teaching is

reminding others that they know it just as well as

you.

April 2013 Page 2

Join Us!Join Us!Join Us!Join Us! Friday, May 17th will Friday, May 17th will Friday, May 17th will Friday, May 17th will be our Elementary Fun be our Elementary Fun be our Elementary Fun be our Elementary Fun and Field Day. Food and Field Day. Food and Field Day. Food and Field Day. Food and drinks will be pro-and drinks will be pro-and drinks will be pro-and drinks will be pro-vided for the children. vided for the children. vided for the children. vided for the children. Children are to wear Children are to wear Children are to wear Children are to wear their Fun & Field day their Fun & Field day their Fun & Field day their Fun & Field day NHCDS tNHCDS tNHCDS tNHCDS t----shirt with shirt with shirt with shirt with jean shorts or athletic jean shorts or athletic jean shorts or athletic jean shorts or athletic shorts and sneakers. shorts and sneakers. shorts and sneakers. shorts and sneakers. Children may bring a Children may bring a Children may bring a Children may bring a hat to wear! Parent hat to wear! Parent hat to wear! Parent hat to wear! Parent volunteers will be volunteers will be volunteers will be volunteers will be

needed! Call now to needed! Call now to needed! Call now to needed! Call now to sign up to help: Lau-sign up to help: Lau-sign up to help: Lau-sign up to help: Lau-ren 727ren 727ren 727ren 727----785785785785----8591 8591 8591 8591 or or or or newhorizonsofc@tamapbay.rr.com newhorizonsofc@tamapbay.rr.com newhorizonsofc@tamapbay.rr.com newhorizonsofc@tamapbay.rr.com

Really Important

Stuff My Kids

Have Taught Me by Cynthia Copeland Lewis

It’s more fun to color outside the

lines.

If the flowers you draw don’t look

like anyone else's, that’s good.

Sometimes it’s smart to be

scared.

If you’re going to bother wetting

the soap and messing up the

towel, you might just as well go

ahead and wash your hands.

Don’t say you brushed your teeth

if you really didn’t.

You can be anything you want to

be when you grow up.

Pants with pockets are better.

The Key to Success!

Watch your thoughts, they become your words.

Watch your words,

they become your actions.

Watch your actions, they become your habits.

Watch your habits,

they become your charac-ter.

Watch your character,

it becomes your destiny.

Play, don’t watch.

Hot lunch sounds better than it

tastes.

It’s easier to start over on a clean

sheet of paper than to erase the

drawing you don’t like.

If you don’t like the birthday girl,

don’t go to the party.

Don’t say “The last one there is a

rotten egg” unless you’re

absolutely sure there’s a slow kid

behind you.

It does matter who started it.

Anything can be a toy.

Homesick is the worse kind of sick.

It feels good to be a bucket filler!

It’s hard to save the best for last.

NHCDS

Each morning take

time to imagine the

person you want to

be!

April 2013 Page 3

NEW HORIZONS ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

proudly present

“Everybody Is A Star”

performed at the

Palm Harbor Library

Monday, March 30, 1998

6:00 - 8:00 PM

(Students will need to arrive at

the library by 5:45 PM)

You will not want to miss this

Spring Performance where each

child truly is a STAR! Seating

will be available on the floor or in

chairs. Seating availability is on

a first come first get basis.

Refreshments will follow the

performance. Volunteers are

n e e d e d t o a s s i s t w i t h

refreshments, chairs, etc. Please

contact the office if you are

available to help in anyway.

School Age School Age School Age School Age Summer CampSummer CampSummer CampSummer Camp

Summer Session is just around

the corner, and many of you are

already making plans for

activities for your children.

Our nine-week program from

June 8 - August 7 provides a

summer filled with friends and

fun. Summer forms that include

all of the details will be sent

home next week so you’ll have

ample time to return them to the

office. Placement will be

guaranteed only to those

students who have submitted

the enrollment application and

necessary fees by Friday,

March 20. Enrollment in our

School Age Summer Camp

program will be limited. After

March 20 registration will be

opened to the community.

TEST Test taking is a

requirement of today’s world!

Students at New Horizons have been performing well above grade level as a whole in all academic areas conceptually grasping concepts ordinarily taught in the upper grades. We are extremely We are extremely We are extremely We are extremely proud of our environment which proud of our environment which proud of our environment which proud of our environment which allows academic advancement to allows academic advancement to allows academic advancement to allows academic advancement to the individual student and the individual student and the individual student and the individual student and embeds concepts with real life, embeds concepts with real life, embeds concepts with real life, embeds concepts with real life, hands on experiences. The staff hands on experiences. The staff hands on experiences. The staff hands on experiences. The staff at New Horizons uses onat New Horizons uses onat New Horizons uses onat New Horizons uses on----going going going going assessment t echniques to assessment t echniques to assessment t echniques to assessment t echniques to continually evaluate students continually evaluate students continually evaluate students continually evaluate students mastery and application of mastery and application of mastery and application of mastery and application of concepts taught. New Horizons concepts taught. New Horizons concepts taught. New Horizons concepts taught. New Horizons staff feel that performance based staff feel that performance based staff feel that performance based staff feel that performance based eva luat i ons measure t rue eva luat i ons measure t rue eva luat i ons measure t rue eva luat i ons measure t rue understanding and knowledge. understanding and knowledge. understanding and knowledge. understanding and knowledge.

We, however, also fee that We, however, also fee that We, however, also fee that We, however, also fee that standardized testing has its standardized testing has its standardized testing has its standardized testing has its p l a c e i n v a l i d a t i n g o u r p l a c e i n v a l i d a t i n g o u r p l a c e i n v a l i d a t i n g o u r p l a c e i n v a l i d a t i n g o u r assessments as well as reporting assessments as well as reporting assessments as well as reporting assessments as well as reporting to parents valuable information to parents valuable information to parents valuable information to parents valuable information about their child’s academic about their child’s academic about their child’s academic about their child’s academic achievement level and test taking achievement level and test taking achievement level and test taking achievement level and test taking abilities. abilities. abilities. abilities. Test tak ing sk i l l s do not Test tak ing sk i l l s do not Test tak ing sk i l l s do not Test tak ing sk i l l s do not necessarily come naturally but necessarily come naturally but necessarily come naturally but necessarily come naturally but often need to be taught. These often need to be taught. These often need to be taught. These often need to be taught. These skills can be taught using skills can be taught using skills can be taught using skills can be taught using positive experiences, practice positive experiences, practice positive experiences, practice positive experiences, practice and observant teaching methods. and observant teaching methods. and observant teaching methods. and observant teaching methods. New Horizons feels that TESTS New Horizons feels that TESTS New Horizons feels that TESTS New Horizons feels that TESTS a r e d e v e l o p m e n t a l l y a r e d e v e l o p m e n t a l l y a r e d e v e l o p m e n t a l l y a r e d e v e l o p m e n t a l l y inappropriate and invalid when inappropriate and invalid when inappropriate and invalid when inappropriate and invalid when given prior to the second grade. given prior to the second grade. given prior to the second grade. given prior to the second grade. The process of selfThe process of selfThe process of selfThe process of self----evaluation, evaluation, evaluation, evaluation, performance assessments and performance assessments and performance assessments and performance assessments and observation inventories are more observation inventories are more observation inventories are more observation inventories are more appropriate for children under appropriate for children under appropriate for children under appropriate for children under the age of eight. New Horizons the age of eight. New Horizons the age of eight. New Horizons the age of eight. New Horizons also realizes that our students also realizes that our students also realizes that our students also realizes that our students may be at a disadvantage if may be at a disadvantage if may be at a disadvantage if may be at a disadvantage if denied a standardized test taking denied a standardized test taking denied a standardized test taking denied a standardized test taking experience. In April, student s in experience. In April, student s in experience. In April, student s in experience. In April, student s in our First through Fifth Grades our First through Fifth Grades our First through Fifth Grades our First through Fifth Grades will participate in testwill participate in testwill participate in testwill participate in test---- like like like like situations. situations. situations. situations.

> New Horizons T-shirts must

be worn on all weekly trips to

the Palm Harbor Library as

well as all Field Trips to insure

your child’s safety.

> Classes begin promptly at

8:30 am for all Elementary

students. We suggest you drop

your child between 8:00 - 8:30

am so they begin their day on

time.

Reminders (contd.)

> When dropping off or

Federal I.D. Number

We’re receiving lost of calls to

obtain our Federal I.D. Number

for claiming After School Care

on your income tax returns.

Please make a special note that

the school’s ID number is 59-

3327147 so you can take

advantage of this tax credit.

Sample

Terra Nova

Questions???

Which is correct?

january 15 1996

january 15, 1996

January 15, 1996

77 — 18 =

You have 1 quarter,

2 nickels and 5 pennies,

how much do you have?

Where does a doctor work?

On a bus

At city hall

In a school

In a hospital

What word means the same

as the underlined word?

his house

room

home

street

friend

What word is spelled

correctly?

That box is too _____.

hevy heavey

heavy hevvy

Which of these uses

sunlight for energy?

A calculator

A clock

A toy truck

An hourglass

Which of these animals

hatched from an egg?

A turtle

A squirrel

A raccoon

A dolphin

Look at the number

pattern, find the number

that is missing.

70, 80, 90, ___, 110

105 95 100 120

47 786

- 13 + 44

A satchel is probably like ...

A lunchbox

A baseball bat

A suitcase

A pitcher’s glove

What part of this sentence

needs correcting?

Today jan went to the store.

What word fits in both

sentences. We watched the ____ at school.

They like to ____ in the park.

ride play paint movie

Many farmers have bee-

hives on their farms. Bees

are most useful in the pro-

duction of which of these?

farm animals

potatoes

fruit

milk

This month our testing of our First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Grade students will give us as educators and you as parents valuable feedback on indiv idual s tudent tes t ing performance as wel l as information that influences curr icu lum decis ions. The previous testing situations have proven to be a valuable experience for all individual students. We noticed that many students were not able to sit for the testing time as expected. Students with special concerns were given the test away from others so not to disturb the testing environment. We look forward to sharing the Terra Nova results with parents in the continued quest to offer the best education for your child.

Make sure your Make sure your Make sure your Make sure your

child gets a good child gets a good child gets a good child gets a good

night sleep and a night sleep and a night sleep and a night sleep and a

good breakfast good breakfast good breakfast good breakfast

all week!all week!all week!all week!

TESTING

Kindergarten/Fist Grade

Explorers

by Mrs. Minnie Schroeder Hopefully everyone has had a

wonderful, relaxing and healthy

Spring Break. I am very excited

for our last quarter as it really is a

culmination of many things we

have learned this year.

In Our Language area in par-

ticular, our skills, strategies and

imagination will all be brought

into play as we begin our Young

Writer’s books. We will be start-

ing with an idea, writing, editing,

and revising our story rough

drafts this month. A very excit-

ing challenge.

In the area of Math we continue

to work on fractions, adding, sub-

tracting and will be revisiting the

area of money. Please take the

time at home to play games with

money, from ‘heads or tails’ to a

more complex board game. Pull

out some pocket change and sort

it into groups of coins.

We take our last ‘flight’ this

month to the continent of Austra-

lia and thank all those parents

who have diligently assisted us in

this special project each month.

While the First Grade children

embark on their formal Terra

Nova testing we will be doing

some testing of our own with the

Kindergartners. We will spend

some time each morning that

week under test conditions and

will be ‘bubbling’ in our answers.

In Social Science we will be

spending time looking at water,

it’s properties and cycle as well

as environmental issues.

We have our Earth Day cele-

brations on the 19th. Don’t miss

the Parent Workshop offered

Tuesday, April 23rd. I look for-

ward to seeing everyone again at

our parent/teacher conference day

scheduled for the 29th April.

Multi-age

Investigators by Mrs. Amy Slutz

Happy Easter everyone!

As we "spring" into the month

of April the multi-age class con-

tinues to enjoy our Inventors and

Inventions theme. This month

they will use what they have

learned about becoming an inven-

tor by designing and constructing

inventions of their own. The de-

tailed project information packet

will be sent home Monday April

1st. All information regarding

this project is outlined in the

packet, so please read over care-

fully and let Mrs. Slutz know if

you have any questions.

Through writer's workshop the

students will continue to use their

knowledge base of story se-

quence and begin writing stories

for Young Writer's Review. This

is a time when students share sto-

ries they have written, edited, re-

vised, illustrated and published.

In math, we will continue with

measurement and fractions as

well as review all basic concepts

covered thus far in preparation

for Terra Nova Testing, which is

the week of April 15th. Please

make sure your child gets plenty

of rest and proper nutrition during

this important week.

In Mrs. Trocin,s math class we

continue to work on practicing

for the Terra Nova. Each day we

take a selected group of math

equations and/or questions ex-

ploring how to answer them cor-

rectly and how to eliminate some

of the incorrect answers.

Lastly, On April 22nd, all stu-

dents will participate in a morn-

ing of fun-filled hands-on games,

discovery stations and recycled

material play area to promote the

importance of open play and

creativity in our school. We will

need a few parent volunteers so if

you are interested please sign up

with Mrs. Slutz. Also if you sub-

scribe to the newspaper, we

would appreciate you bringing in

your old newspapers a we need

lots of them for our "recycled

construction zone". Thanks in

advance for your help with this

event.

April 2013 Page 4

Teacher Appreciation WeekTeacher Appreciation WeekTeacher Appreciation WeekTeacher Appreciation Week The week of May 6 - 10th has been established nationally to recognize the hard work, creativity and caring of our teachers. Their patience, persistence and hope for the future inspires your children to love learning and to reach their full potential. Your individual expression of appreciation to your child’s teacher(s) that week will mean a lot. The school has gotten each elementary teacher a charm bracelet, it would be nice for each child to give their teacher a keepsake charm that represents them. These do not have to be expensive, they be found in places like

Walmart, Target, Fossil, The Dollar Store, etc... (the bracelets are silver)

Wow this year has gone so quickly! Don’t miss the end of year fun!

Thursday 4/1/2013 Elementary Skating & Pizza Day

Tuesday 4/23/13 Parenting Workshop - Life and Children:

How to Manage Problem Behaviors and Promote Independence

Monday 4/29/2013 Parent/Teacher ConferencesParent/Teacher ConferencesParent/Teacher ConferencesParent/Teacher Conferences————No SchoolNo SchoolNo SchoolNo School—Fun Day available

Thursday 5/16/2013 Parenting Workshop -

Friday 5/17/2013 Fun & Field Day—lunch provided

Tuesday 5/21/2013 - Elementary Field Trip to Blue Jays Game

Monday 5/27/2013 Memorial Day—No School

Tuesday 6/4/2013 Young Writers’ Review Young Writers’ Review Young Writers’ Review Young Writers’ Review 7:00 PM Dress attire requested!

This is an evening for Mom & Dad, please leave younger siblings at home.

Wednesday 6/5/2013 Last Day of School! School Gathering/Awards Last Day of School! School Gathering/Awards Last Day of School! School Gathering/Awards Last Day of School! School Gathering/Awards 10:30 AM Early Dismissal Day! 12:00 PM Everyone is welcome to attend!

April 2013 Page 5